Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Seeing the sightsYour U.S. Military gave journalists a tour of the Abu Ghraib prison today, hoping to convince them that things aren't really that bad. Apparently, they are:

"Where's the freedom Bush? Is this freedom?" shouted one man, waving a prosthetic leg over his head as he leaned on a crutch. Another read a message through a megaphone, protesting the abuse of Iraqis' "freedom, dignity and rights."

Dressed in an assortment of clothing, from shorts and t-shirts to traditional robes and headscarves, at least 10 of the prisoners were on crutches -- apparently wounded in a recent mortar bombardment of the prison which killed 22 detainees.

Some appeared to be in their early teens. Others were old and bearded and walked with the aide of sticks. One young man, who appeared to be blind, was escorted by a friend who desperately tried to point out his incapacity to journalists.

Journalists were not allowed to film, photograph or talk to the prisoners and their visit was tightly controlled, allowing them access only to the parts of the facility that U.S. forces wanted to show them.